The Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises released a press statement on 24 July outlining the need for new cutting-edge
technology in the Automotive sector in the country.
The release said that India
is the fifth largest car manufacturer, the seventh largest commercial
vehicle manufacturer and the largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in the
world. The Indian auto-industry has begun implementing global automotive
technologies in vehicles as well as in the auto component industry. Consequently,
Indian uses innovative manufacturing processes that are more people-oriented as
compared to a more machine-oriented workforce prevalent in other countries in the
world.
As the global automotive
industry is rapidly expanding and developing and introducing new product
technologies, there is a growing need to introduce more of these technologies in
the Indian automotive industry. Switching over from conventional Internal
Combustion (IC) engine-based vehicles to new technologies like electric,
hybrid, fuel cells is essential. This change is expected to reduce high import
costs of fuel, the country’s dependence on fossil fuel resources, environmental
degradation and the effects of climate change.
In 2017, the
International Energy Agency (IEA), an organisation based in Paris, said in
its annual
review of long-term global energy trends that the increasing electricity demand around the
world will ensure that carbon-dioxide levels keep rising unless countries are
more ambitious with their targets.
As of 2017, about 2
million out of 1 billion automobiles in the world run on electric or hybrid
engines. The IEA expects that number will be at 50 million by 2025, and 280
million by 2040, as countries will promote the change to e-mobility.
The Indian automotive
industry needs to start implementing more environmentally-friendly technologies
like lithium-ion batteries and electric and hybrid engines for automotive
applications and battery management systems.
The press release noted that in 2013, India rolled
out the National Mission on Electric Mobility intended to develop e-mobility in Mission Mode. A Mission Mode Project (MMP) is an individual project within the National
e-Governance Plan (NeGP). Within the NeGP,
"mission mode" implies that projects have clearly defined objectives,
scopes, and implementation timelines and milestones, as well as measurable
outcomes and service levels.
A follow-up programme
called the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric
Vehicles in India) Scheme was launched in 2015 to provide incentives to create
demand, encourage the establishment of an Electronic Vehicle (EV) ecosystem, infrastructure
and development of technology through R&D. The second phase of this scheme
(FAME II), plans to bolster the EV industry with interventions in demand and
supply and R&D efforts.
The Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE) is involved with the research and development of
alternative fuels for vehicles in the country. The MNRE is supporting
broad-based research and development programmes for the development of new and
renewable energy technologies including hydrogen and fuel cells.
The Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways has made it mandatory for the vehicle manufacturers in
general and passenger car manufacturers, in particular, to comply with the
country’s safety standards. These standards are technically aligned as
much as possible with the international standards-UN
ECE/Global Technical Regulations (GTRs).
The Department of Heavy
Industry supports technological interventions for the automobile industry
through grants for product and testing infrastructure development, through the Development Council for
Automobile and Allied Industries (DCAAI) funds to Automotive Research
Association of India (ARAI), Pune and
academic institutions.
(Read
the Global Energy and Carbon Dioxide Status Report 2017 here)
